Philippines dangles meaty discounts, nationwide shopping fest to lift tourism out of Covid-19 slump

February 24, 2020

The Philippines has come up with a two-fold approach to tackle the tourism slump owing to the coronavirus crisis: months-long reduced rates to spur domestic travel as well as a nationwide shopping festival next month tucked into inbound tour packages to woo major markets abroad.

While the rate reduction stimulants will not completely compensate for the tourism industry’s expected business losses, estimated to be 40 billion pesos (US$785 million) from February to April, it will cushion the impact of losing China – the country’s second biggest source market – and other feeder markets, explained Philippine Travel Agencies Association (PTAA) president Ritchie Tuano.

Philippines rolls out a series of promotions to boost tourism amid Covid-19; Sirao Flower Garden in Cebu, Philippines pictured

Tuano told TTG Asia that during past pandemics like SARS and H1N1 which deterred foreigners from coming to the Philippines, it was domestic travel that rallied the industry. Domestic travellers last year is expected to have surpassed the 100 million in 2018, compared with foreign arrivals which was 8.2 million last year.

More than 40 (and counting) hotels and resorts around the Philippines have agreed to cut room rates by up to 50 per cent in collaboration with the Department of Tourism (DoT) and its marketing arm, the Tourism Promotions Board, Tourism Congress of the Philippines (TCP), Philippine Hotel Owners Association, Hotel and Sales Marketing Association, PTAA, and Philippine Tour Operators Association.

The slashed room rates will be on offer until August, alongside 20 to 30 per cent in airfare reduction for flights on Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific and Air Asia Philippines – even as various quarters see room for more rate cuts, and are hoping for further reduction of up to 50 per cent in airfares.

As for the shopping festival set to take place this March, retail outlets across the country will dangle discounts of up to 70 per cent, especially on artisanal products and handicrafts. This itinerary will be incorporated into inbound packages to entice major markets including South Korea, Japan and Taiwan.

Elsewhere, the 360-member Network of Independent Travel Agencies (NITAS) will launch its own domestic sale programme this year, following a pre-emptive meeting with other industry stakeholders and the Department of Trade.

NITAS president Angel Ramos Bognot said their partner hotels and airlines will be offering “cut-throat rates” until September 15, with the involvement of local government units that will be offering souvenirs to travellers.

Dubbed Pasyal Pilipinas Now Na (loosely translated as Travel Around The Philippines Now), the programme is a continuation of NITAS’ pre-Covid-19 campaign encouraging product diversification by going into domestic tourism through product seminars and developments, Bognot said.

TCP president Jojo Clemente said he has made known to the DoT the request of some stakeholders for tax holidays, tax incentive and soft loans to tide them over the crisis. “I think the DoT would be in a better position to answer whether tax holidays and incentives are forthcoming. These are under their purview,” he said.

Oyo sets up Covid-19 fund for South-east Asian partners

By TTG Asia

February 24, 2020

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Oyo Hotels and Homes is setting up a dedicated fund of US$200,000 to support its partners and their families in the South-east Asian region who have been impacted by Covid-19.

This is the second fund by Oyo in Asia, following the hospitality chain’s dedicated fund of more than RMB one million (US$142,000) in China to support infected employees and their family members.

Oyo earmarks US$200,000 to assist its South-east Asian partners impacted by Covid-19

Oyo CEO for South-east Asia, Japan & Middle East, Mandar Vaidya, alongside other members of the leadership team for South-east Asia, have also pledged to donate a portion of their salaries for February 2020 to the fund.

Vaidya said in a statement: “The hospitality industry has been impacted and we are also concerned with the impact Covid-19 has on our partners as they come to grips with the current situation. Our responsibility as #TeamOYOSEA compels us to come out in full support of everyone connected to Oyo as we navigate through this difficult phase”.

He added: “Oyo stands in solidarity with all OYOprenuers and our partners in the region. Our effort reflects the organisation’s culture and values, which we hope, would spur others in the region to do their part during this challenging and uncertain time.”

Princess Cruises creates 44 new cruises with redeployed Sapphire Princess

By TTG Asia

February 24, 2020

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Princess Cruises’ decision to redeploy the 2,670-pax Sapphire Princess for an extended Australia season from May 1, 2020, will add 44 new cruises from five major Australian cities.

Unveiling the cruise line’s expanded programme, Stuart Allison, senior vice president Asia Pacific, said: “With the ongoing uncertainty of travel restrictions and port closures in Asia impacting our cruise operations in the region, we hope that this extended deployment in Australia will benefit local tourism, particularly in regional areas with 102 visits to regional ports around the country during her year-long deployment.”

Princess Cruises adds 44 new cruises from five major cities after cancelling another 21 sailings in Asia

On sale from February 27, Sapphire Princess’ programme will include 171 port calls. Travellers can go on an inaugural Australia circumnavigation voyage, sailing Adelaide roundtrip with similar options from Fremantle and Sydney, and enjoy 19 maiden calls along Western Australia’s coast including Geraldton and Exmouth.

Fares departing from Perth (Fremantle) start from A$3,249 (US$2,143) per person on a twin-share basis.

Indonesian trade cries foul over partial closure of Borobudur temple

By Kurniawan Ulung

February 24, 2020

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Travel trade players in Yogyakarta have been dealt a second blow with last week’s closure of the top levels of the Borobudur temple to visitors due to a conservation campaign, following the hike in ticket prices to the temple.

The Borobudur Conservation Agency (BKB) has banned visitors from entering the ninth and 10th levels of the Borobudur temple to prevent irresponsible actions that may threaten the conservation of the temple, such as climbing or sitting on the stupa walls, littering, vandalism, sticking used chewing gum on stone surfaces, smoking, and performing Parkour on the stupas.

Trade players rally against the closure of the top levels of the Borobudur temple

The agency found 3,074 stains of used chewing gum in the temple, including 590 on the top levels.

During the closure that runs from February 13 for an unspecified period, BKB allows visitors to enjoy the views of Borobudur from the eighth level.

The temple’s partial closure is part of a monitoring programme that aims to check several aspects, such as the maintainability of the stones, the stability of the structure, the impact of visitorship, and damage to the main stones of the stupa structure, according to a press release by the agency.

Edwin Ismedi, managing director of Trend Tour & Travel, said that while some of his inbound Malaysian visitors were understanding about the restriction, the majority protested against it since the main purpose of visiting Borobudur was to access the temple’s uppermost levels.

Raising doubts about BKB’s statement on the discovery of many used chewing gums on stone surfaces, Edwin said that tour guides who visited the venue daily reported that they never witnessed such irresponsible behaviour.

Visitors also now advise one another to not climb the stupa walls and litter, he added.

Similarly, Shelly Henry, managing director of Chacha Tours, said that she had received complaints about the ban from her business partners in Malaysia and Singapore. They requested the Borobudur entrance ticket of US$25 to be cut to compensate for the closure of the temple’s top floors.

The restriction also extends to customers who bought the Borobudur Sunrise and Borobudur Sunset packages, special entrance tickets for guests to enjoy the Borobudur temple at dusk or dawn.

This adds a further damper for travel agents, after Taman Wisata Candi (TWC), a company that manages the temple, raised their prices on January 1 from 475,000 rupiah (US$34) to 500,000 rupiah for foreigners.

Shelly said that the sudden price hike meant travel agents had to shoulder the price difference for contracts inked before the change.

In April, when the old contracts expire, Shelly plans to increase the price of tour packages by 20 to 30 per cent. In a similar vein, Edwin will also raise the price of his tour packages by 10 per cent.

Edwin expressed concern that the yearly ticket price hikes to the Borobudur temple may deter travellers from visiting Yogyakarta, and instead opt for Vietnam or other countries with similar attractions.

He added that there have yet to be significant improvements made to the services for the Borobudur Sunrise and Sunset tour packages since the price hike earlier this year.

A cheaper alternative, according to both Edwin and Shelly, is to catch the sunrise from the hilltop of Punthuk Setumbu, located west of the Borobudur temple.

Qantas Group adjusts flight schedule in view of poor demand

By TTG Asia

February 24, 2020

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Qantas International and Jetstar Group have made temporary reductions to their flight schedule in response to a drop in demand due to the Covid-19 outbreak.

Qantas International will cut 16 per cent of Asia capacity until at least the end of May, a move that will impact flights from Australia to China, Hong Kong and Singapore.

Qantas, Jetstar to cut flights to Asia due to weakening demand amid the Covid-19 crisis

Its Sydney-Shanghai service will remain suspended; flights from Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne to Hong Kong will be reduced; Melbourne-Singapore service will be operated using a Boeing 787 instead of the larger Airbus 380.

Jetstar Group will cut its capacity to Asia by 14 per cent until at least the end of May 2020, impacting flights from Australia to Japan and Thailand, and intra-Asia flights.

Cairns-Tokyo (Narita), Cairns-Osaka, Gold Coast-Tokyo (Narita) and Melbourne and Sydney-Phuket will each be reduced by up to two return flights per week.

Jetstar Asia (Singapore), Jetstar Japan and Jetstar Pacific (Vietnam) have suspended flights to China and are reducing flights across the region. In particular, Jetstar Asia is reducing total seats by 15 per cent.

There is no change to other key parts of the Qantas International network, such as the US and UK.

Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce said the measures will help the company to limit exposure to softening markets impacted by the outbreak.

“We can extend how long the cuts are in place, we can deepen them or we can add seats back in if the demand is there. This is an evolving situation that we’re monitoring closely,” he said in a statement.

Arrivals from South Korea to undergo special screening at Colombo airport

By Feizal Samath

February 24, 2020

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The Sri Lankan government has ordered close screenings of all South Korean arrivals at Bandaranaike International Airport in response to a spike in new Covid-19 infections in South Korea.

While the intense screening will unlikely impact South Korean arrival numbers, as the market is a small one for Sri Lanka, it is understood that the move is necessary as there are 20,000 Sri Lankans who are either working or studying in South Korea.

All passengers arriving in Sri Lanka from South Korea to undergo screenings

In 2019, there were 12,195 arrivals from South Korea out of a total of more than two million arrivals in Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka has only one detected Covid-19 case, a Chinese tourist who was tested positive on January 27 and discharged on February 19. However, the destination has not been immune to the travel and tourism slump induced by the outbreak. Business at hotels is slow and conventions scheduled from China are cancelled.

According to Hotels Association of Sri Lanka’s president Sanath Ukwatte, the country has seen a 10 per cent drop in bookings by travellers from other countries as the outbreak spreads beyond China.

“People are reluctant to travel and mingle at airports,” he said.

Asim Mukhtar, CEO of Lanka Exhibitions and Conferences Services, told TTG Asia that a trade show planned for end-February and another for March have been cancelled. “Chinese companies (exhibitors) were unable to obtain exit visas and are locked in their cities,” he explained.

The Hotels Association of Sri Lanka has asked the Sri Lankan government to extend a one-year relief package offered in the aftermath of the Easter Sunday bombings in April 2019, for another year from May 2020 to cope with losses from the drop in Chinese arrivals, the country’s third largest source market.

The package includes a one-year moratorium on the payment of loan instalments and interest, and a soft loan scheme to help pay staff salaries and other overheads.

Grab snags US$700m investment from Japan’s MUFG Bank

By TTG Asia

February 24, 2020

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Japan’s largest bank, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG), will be investing more than US$700 million in South-east Asian ride-hailing giant Grab in a deal that will see the bank marketing a range of financial services including insurance and loans to Grab’s users, the Nikkei reported.

MUFG and Grab intend to announce their alliance soon, said the report, citing an insider familiar with the matter.

Japan’s MUFG to invest more than US$700 million in Grab

The deal is expected to be completed by by mid-year, with MUFG taking a stake of several percent in the ride-hailing company, said the report.

Since its founding in 2012, Grab has since branched out into other lines of businesses, including food delivery and financial services.

The Softbank Group-backed company now operates in eight South-east Asian countries, including Thailand and Indonesia. Grab has more than 170 million users, based on the number of apps download.

There’s a new baby at Laguna Golf Lang Co

By TTG Asia

February 24, 2020

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A family of water buffalo greenkeepers, famous for tending to the rice paddies on Vietnam’s Laguna Golf Lang Co, has welcomed a new member: baby Luna.

The bovine brood – father Tu Phat, mother Chi Chi and their eldest calf Bao – came to fame last year as global media publicised their roles as “bio-mowers” on the Sir Nick Faldo Signature Design track.

Baby Luna is the latest addition to the greenkeeping team at Laguna Golf Lang Co

The trio has played a key role in maintaining the elevated status of the layout, which winds its way through tropical jungle, ocean sand dunes and rice paddies.

They help to manage the seven hectares of rice fields located in the middle of the course by eating excess weeds and crops.

Baby Luna, who was born in the fall of 2019, will provide extra assistance.

The rice-fields, though, are not just for show. Harvested twice a year, they yield up to 20 tonnes of rice that are used to support the organic farm at Laguna Lang Co, and donated to families and seniors in the area.

The utilisation of water buffalo as greenkeepers is part of a wider push by Laguna Golf Lang Co to be the most sustainable course in Vietnam, following its eradication of single-use plastics in almost all aspects of its operations.

Asia’s largest illumination festival to light up Chiang Rai

By TTG Asia

February 24, 2020

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Index Creative Village and Singha Park Chiang Rai have come together to produce Asia’s largest light festival, Village of Illumination, from December 4, 2020 to January 31, 2021.

The 59-day event, to be held in the 160,000m² Singha Park Chiang Rai, aims to boost lifestyle tourism in Northern Thailand and is expected to attract more than 300,000 tourists to the province.

Village of Illumination is hoped to boost Chiang Rai’s tourism

Village of Illumination will feature 10 zones in its premiere edition, utilising digital multimedia, art, music and technology to draw domestic and international visitors.

An estimated 600 million baht (US$961,755) is expected to be generated from tourism income during this event.

Beating the economic slump

By Rohit Kaul

February 21, 2020

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A worsening economic slowdown has thrown up challenges for Indian hoteliers, with the effects rippling across both domestic and international markets.

Reeling under pressure too are Indian business sectors like automobile, which have been plagued with declining sales.

Tourism in Goa is among the hardest hit from the economic slowdown and the collapse of Thomas Cook UK

“The slowdown in the automobile sector has impacted the hospitality industry in Pune, with demand going down by about four per cent,” said Pankaj Saxena, general manager, Radisson Blu Pune Hinjawadi.

It is a double whammy for markets like Goa who have also been hit by the closure of Thomas Cook UK, noted industry players.

“The market sentiments are certainly down, and it has affected both domestic and international guests. Hotel occupancies have declined. Destinations like Goa are among the hardest hit with more declines in international business than any other destination,” said Sarbendra Sarkar, founder and managing director, Cygnett Hotels and Resorts.

“Hospitality players are facing a tough time because of the current economic slowdown. Besides a drop in demand from international tourists, corporate travellers are also shortening their stay or curtailing their expenses,” said Victor Soares, senior general manager, Radisson Blu Resort Goa Cavelossim Beach.

On the bright side, domestic tourism is throwing a lifeline to the majority of hospitality players in India, especially those in the non-metro markets. “Tier II markets are becoming the key focus, especially in leisure segments. Domestic travellers with disposable income are looking forward to exploring new cities apart from traditional places,” said Sarkar.

Several hoteliers remain positive about the growth both in inbound and domestic markets.

Sanjeev K Nayar, general manager, WelcomHeritage, said: “After the liberalisation of the e-visa scheme, inbound tourism hasn’t weakened. Nevertheless, the domestic market is definitely very buoyant and coming up really well. Domestic travel is seeing steady growth as the middle class continues to travel for religious and festive reasons.”

Helping Indian hoteliers to weather the economic headwinds too is the recent move by India’s GST Council to cut tax on room tariffs of Rs7,500 (US$105) and above from 28 per cent to 18 per cent, and tax on room tariffs of less than Rs7,500, from 18 per cent to 12 per cent.

“The GST cut was a very big step for boosting tourist numbers and creating widespread publicity for Indian tourism. There has been an increase in queries and subsequent bookings,” said Nayar.

Sarkar agreed: “This landmark move will act as a catalyst to revive the slow-growing Indian hospitality industry. It will help hotels win back guests and gain traction that was not evident over the past months.”

Philippines dangles meaty discounts, nationwide shopping fest to lift tourism out of Covid-19 slump

Oyo sets up Covid-19 fund for South-east Asian partners

Princess Cruises creates 44 new cruises with redeployed Sapphire Princess

Indonesian trade cries foul over partial closure of Borobudur temple

Qantas Group adjusts flight schedule in view of poor demand

Arrivals from South Korea to undergo special screening at Colombo airport

Grab snags US$700m investment from Japan’s MUFG Bank

There’s a new baby at Laguna Golf Lang Co

Asia’s largest illumination festival to light up Chiang Rai

Beating the economic slump

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